Hi everyone,
I’ve had my Canyon Ultimate Di2 for a few weeks now. It’s my first bike where I’ve dropped the handlebar a bit after a bike fitting.
My fitter advised me to ride it like this for a while. If I’m happy with the position, he suggested we cut the excess steerer tube (the "spacer tower" on top as seen in the photo) to make it look clean. However, he also told me to check with Canyon regarding the warranty first.
As expected, Canyon support confirmed that cutting the steerer tube voids the warranty (which is a risk I'm willing to take). But they also claimed that cutting the fork steerer compromises the structural integrity and stability of the cockpit/fork, posing a safety hazard.
To me, this sounds kind of like standard corporate liability/legal talk and my bike fitter told me this will be perfectly fine, but I wanted to ask the community:
- Has anyone here cut the steerer tube on their current-gen Ultimate?
- Did you run into any structural issues, or is it purely a legal disclaimer from Canyon?
- How did you handle the expansion plug/compression assembly after cutting?
by Asyphax
5 Comments
Look TECHNICALLY they’re correct.
However
1. it shouldn’t really void the warranty IMO
2. it does effect the stability from a design perspective but no more than what you’ve done already effects it. If you’re having a reputable shop do it, I don’t see an issue with it. They’d ultimately remove the spacers and put the top cap right back ontop of the stem how it was before it was lowered.
If it’s not cut right it can actually cause issues but again if a good shop is doing it there’s not issues to me
Canyons legal department may disagree, but the answer is no. Cutting the excess from the steerer above the stem is standard and it is not providing any structural support with your current stem position. If you crack or otherwise compromise the steerer while cutting, that is a big problem, but a proper cutting guide and carbon fiber saw blade will do the trick. If it were me it’d already be gone!
Edit: spelling and grammar
As someone who got told the same thing by a bike fitter, and ended up raising the stem instead of keeping it lower, increasing comfort dramatically – I would leave it a while and see how you feel. Might be an unpopular opinion but theres no going back. So there’s no harm in giving it some time🫡
1. Cut my 2022 ultimate sl8 di2 3 yrs ago
2. No issues so far. Riding 100-200km/ week with religiously checking on the clamping area for any damage. So far none.
3. I bring mine to LBS they knew better of placing the expansion plug after cutting. (Im from Singapore)
Goodluck and ride safe! 🤙🏼
Void your warranty? Wonder who in Canyon told you that. I have my steer tube cut and still sent my Endurace in for a warranty claim and none of the Canyon staff has a problem proceeding the warranty.
If the issue is caused by a poor quality steer tube cutting job then yeah I’d say Canyon wouldn’t be responsible for that indeed, but in general this is just a common practice to have the excess cut.